Spark!

After Christer Hermodsson left Spark!, original vocalist Stefan Brorsson is back for this album. Their last one, “Chaos”, was released back in 2019, so it’s taken a long time for this album to gestate. The result is a bit uneven, but still filled with the band’s special brand of catchy old school body music with Swedish lyrics.

To begin with, I must mention the first thing I bumped up against. The mixing is a bit weird on several tracks, with the drums being so low in the mix they almost can’t be heard. It’s mostly evident on “Kontroll alt elit” and “Släck vår eld”, where the main focus shifts to the bass lines. Which is fine I guess, but some of the momentum is lost.

Spark! usually excels in creating hi-octane EBM pop, and they deliver here too, especially in the middle trio of songs “Håll det fast” (possibly the best track on the album), “Vi är två (mot en miljon)” and the aforementioned “Släck vår eld”. These represent what I want to hear on a Spark! album, and they’re mostly on par with their previous output.

However, there are also some duds here, especially “Klicka” and “Norge”, where I just can’t get past the lyrics, which are clunky and sometimes overly repetitive.

All in all a solid return for Spark! but I’d actually prefer an edgier production. A little more grit. And less singing about clubbing seal cubs in Norway.